


I'd Tap That

by herbailiwick



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Sexting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-08
Updated: 2012-05-08
Packaged: 2017-11-05 01:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/400291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herbailiwick/pseuds/herbailiwick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Philomenia, who prompted: "Either, after Study in Pink, Mycroft finding out that John had been flirting with Anthea or John finding out later that he had been flirting with Mycroft's missus."</p><p>Established Mythea, with one-sided Johnthea and slight hints of one-sided Johncroft. Rated PG-13 for the content of a text.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'd Tap That

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Philomenia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Philomenia/gifts).



She smelled nice. Her perfume was one meant to make an impression. Or, at least, that's what John had learned from Sherlock, and Sherlock's observations about romance had been fairly solid, when it came to perfume (and not when it came to much else).

Instead of tapping away at her Blackberry, she thumbed through a catalog, her brow furrowing. It was a menswear catalog, to be specific, and John was intrigued. The ride wouldn't be long, he knew, so he had to ask if he didn't want to miss his chance. "Anything I can help you with? You know, since I," he gestured to the catalog, "wear, er, clothes for men?"

She looked up at him with her wow-you-really-are-an-idiot expression, but she handed the catalog over. "Be my guest. John."

He shot her a bit of a nervous smile at the use of his name, and then he looked down at the open page spread of the catalog.  "Tie pins," he commented. "Okay, I admit I'm not too familiar with tie pins. Are you looking to get a gift for someone?"

"Yeah," she said. She offered nothing else, so he had to break the silence again.

"Okay, and what's he like?"

"He's sort of traditional, but he likes interesting little things like those," she nodded to the pages. "He likes antiques, and art, and weapons. He likes birds, too."

"Birds?"

She nodded. "Yeah. And clouds, and raindrops. And sometimes flowers, but flowers aren't usually found to be appropriate additions to a man's ensemble."

"And I don't see any here anyway," John teased, flipping through a few of the pages.  She said nothing, but he noticed her eyes on him.

"So," John asked after a moment. "Boyfriend?"

She smirked, letting the silence hang. "Does it matter?" she finally asked. 

"In a way," John said slowly. "Because if he exists, I won't have a chance. But if he doesn't, maybe the two of us could do dinner sometime?"

Her brow furrowed again.

"You're interesting," John said, pressing on. "Mysterious. And, obviously, quite beautiful. Careful about giving gifts that suit the people you care about. And, I know from when you helped me in last time, you have soft hands, but they're strong. You're dangerous, I think." He quirked his lip.

"So you like danger, then, John?" 

"I do, at that." He handed the catalog back to her, pointing at one of the tie pins. "That sword's rather nice, Anthea. Quite charming."

She smiled slightly at John. "Charming, yes," she said.  She picked up her Blackberry and began to type, leaving John to watch her in silence until they finally arrived.

***

John noticed the tie pin the first time he saw Mycroft wear it. Mycroft, then. That'd been who she'd gotten the gift for. It had been a rather expensive tie pin, but John didn't want to jump to conclusions about how close the two were. 

It was just a tie pin, on the one hand. But Mycroft seemed to take pride in his clothing, so maybe it meant more to him than it might've to a man like John. And the price could mean less to Anthea than it would to John. He was not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but Mycroft seemed to be, and Anthea was his right-hand woman. 

Mycroft could even have slipped her some money to buy him a present. It sounded like something he might make his pretty, put-upon assistant do.  But, no, even if that were the case, she'd seemed to really want to get it right. Maybe she cared for Mycroft and wanted his gift to be special, to mean something. In that case, it meant something that she'd let John help. Not only had she let him offer advice, she'd taken the advice. And Mycroft seemed proud of the choice.

Maybe she thought more of John than she let on, then. Maybe he'd ask her out properly. The worst she could do was say no.

***

"So, what do you say?" he asked her. "You, me, dinner?"

She tapped at her phone impatiently for a moment, then sighed, sliding it into her pocket. 

"John, do you mind if I send an urgent text?"

"What? Er, yeah, that's fine." He handed his phone over, even more readily than he'd handed it to Sherlock on their first meeting.

She tapped away, then handed the phone back. 

"Thank you, John," she said with a smile.

Then, she got back in the car while John was still busy smiling at her. He cursed, supposing it must have been a rejection, but wishing she'd just been clear.

He glanced at the sent messages and almost didn't believe what he saw. She'd texted Mycroft, which was expected. But the content of the text was...well...enlightening.

Now, Irene had flirted by text, but this was clearly meant to arouse.

_ On John's phone, sir. I'd press you to the wall and tug at the shirt as if I'd like all the buttons to pop off helplessly. But I'd be careful to keep them attached as I revealed your pink nipples. _

John continued to stare at the text in disbelief. So is this what she'd been doing half the time as she tap tap tapped away?

Really, she could have just had the decency to reject him. 

John ignored the mental image he had of Mycroft reacting to such texts, as well as the image of him actually texting back, of sexting being a regular thing those two mysterious and dangerous beings participated in together. 

***

Mycroft was holding the mobile phone with the barest of grips, his fingertips seeming to want to release it and let it fall to the ground.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded quietly as she entered.

"Sir," she said happily. 

"Anthea," Mycroft said with warning.

"What, you didn't like it?" she asked with a quirked brow, not trying very hard at all to feign innocence.

"You've probably embarrassed John."

Anthea slunk around the side of the desk to stand next to him, curling an arm around his shoulders as she leaned in to read the text. "Well, it's true," she said casually.

"Mm?"

"They're quite pink."

"Anthea!" 

She kissed his cheek, a heavy blush appearing that made her want to send more texts in the same vein.

"Was he hitting on you?" Mycroft asked.

She sighed, leaning against Mycroft slightly. "Well, I think he read too much into the fact I let him help choose your tie pin."

"He helped with that?" he sounded impressed, so she nosed his ear as a distraction.

"Yes, he did," she admitted. "So, yes, he was hitting on me."

"So you couldn't just let him down?" He turned to look at her, disappointed in her. She kissed his ear for it.

"Not just that," she said. "It wasn't just that he needed to be let down by me."

He set his jaw. "Oh?" 

"I think he wants you. I had to stake my claim." She quirked her lip, entirely too pleased with herself for Mycroft's liking. 

But he wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her closer all the same. "My, aren't we possessive," he said, but he smiled and sounded rather pleased himself.

"I like him, John, as far as people go," she said calmly. "I just thought if I sexted you, I could make my point without having to talk to him about it. I don't even know what to properly call what we have. I don't like labels." She shrugged.

"And you thought you could embarrass me."

"Yes." She wiggled slightly the memory of Mycroft's bright blush. "And him too."

Mycroft gave her hair a tug. "You're not a very considerate person, Anthea." His voice danced with affection.

"You'll both live," Anthea said, and leaned in to steal a kiss.


End file.
